Fjord was on his knees. If anyone was present, they would’ve seen the pain in his eyes.

  Maybe thirty minutes ago, he’d gone from following the knight who had killed one man and apprehended the other to running away. When he’d seen the beast that had come for the knight, he had been in no hurry to stay in the bushes and see what would happen. The last thing he wanted was to go gaining the attention of a monster when he didn’t have the combat class.

  So, he had run. His legs had carried him faster than they’d ever had. He’d stumbled into trees and low hanging branches. Visibility had been poor, and he had fallen a few times. Fjord had not panicked so badly ever since his first job with the poaching crew.

  It had been a while before he’d regained his senses and had found that he was lucky the monster hadn’t gone after him with all the noise he’d made.

  When he had sufficiently calmed down and cursed his need to find out if the girl merged to a tree was alright, only then did he return on his path to where he’d found her. It had been quick and simple. It had been sad.

  Now here he was, the outcome more painful than he had thought it would be.

  “Your heart’s too big for this job,” Voshret, the leader of his old poaching crew, had told him. “You need to kill it, kid. Smother the child living in wonder land and let the man willing to do what has to be done come out.”

  Staring up at the massive tree, Fjord knew that the child was still not smothered. He knew that even the man willing to do what had to be done had a heart inside him.

  Looking up at the tree and the girl with half her body dangling out of it, he let out a broken sigh. He’d hoped to find her alive, not just because of the effect of the skill. He’d wanted her to live.

  The girl was young, probably his age. Most people his age were living simple lives. Fjord, himself, was only in his present predicament because he had put himself in it. He had run from home in hopes for an adventurous life when no mercenary squad or the adventure society had been willing to take a [Gambler].

  And he’d found his adventure.

  An adventure that had brought him all the way to a girl in a tree.

  “Here goes nothing,” he muttered under his voice, needing the comfort that came with the company of sound, no matter how small, in this dead forest.

  [You have used skill Detect]

  Staring at her, he watched an indicator slowly come to life above her head. With how low her head hung, dangling almost lifelessly, her hair completely concealed her face.

  Please don’t say dead, he prayed.

  When the indicator popped up, he didn’t know whether he was supposed to be happy or not.

  [Anita Rogers- Doppelganger (Level 22)]

  On the plus side, she was alive. But there was also the possibility of how much pain she had to be in if she was alive.

  [Class skill Unsure odds is concluded]

  [Survival of girl in green highlights has been established.]

  [Odds calculated: Alive 11.99 vs Dead 0.29 vs Body not found 2.19]

  [Girl in green highlights is alive]

  [The odds are in your favor]

  [You have gained +11 to perception]

  [Duration: 18:00:00]

  Fjord stared at the notification, slightly annoyed with it. An eleven points increase was a lot, but he had been hoping for something more combat inclined. Still, with a duration of eighteen hours, that was almost an entire day.

  As for why the reward had been given to the perception stat, Fjord had since learnt that his rewards were usually linked in some way to the bet he made with the skill. In this case, the bet had been on his observation abilities. It only made sense that his reward would’ve been in that direction.

  I would’ve been happy with some kind of buff, too, though, he thought.

  It was one of the benefits of his class. Unlike other classes that were fixed in some form of way, his class was something of a wild card. Once upon a time, the skill had rewarded him in a combat situation with an area of effect healing buff. It had kept him and his team healing for the duration of the fight.

  But while people would say it was a good thing, the fact that it had only ever happened to him once, despite how many times he had used the skill [Unsure Odds], said a lot.

  Dismissing the notification from in front of him, Fjord got up. He did his best to shake off the despair he felt at the state of the girl.

  I need to get her down, he thought. He didn’t know where he was going to start or how. All he knew was that he had to try something.

  So, moving forward, he climbed the countless roots that had grown above ground and approached the girl. He could only imagine how this had happened to a girl of her level and class.

  “Alright,” he muttered now that he was standing in front of her. “If you can hear me, please help me help you.”

  With his perception increased, he could hear her faint breathing. It was weak and slow. So slow that it was surprising that she still had enough oxygen to keep her heart pumping enough blood to keep her alive. There were rumors that at level one hundred, you didn’t need the oxygen in the air as much as you did at lower levels. Breathing was still important, but apparently, it was not for the oxygen but a way for a person to keep their body supplied with mana.

  The theory was that a person who still had even one percent of mana left in them could arguably hold their breath infinitely.

  As for the validity of that… well, Fjord was not even at level fifty, and he didn’t know anyone at level one hundred or anyone that knew someone at level one hundred.

  He placed a hand on the tree where it met with the girl’s body and traced a path down it. If he could find where the tree ended and the girl began, he would probably be able to…

  Fjord froze.

  His ears stood as he picked out sound in the distance. His brows furrowed. Two voices were talking about whether one person preferred jepats or something called horses. Unaccustomed to the level his perception was currently at, he had no idea just how far they were. They could just as easily be thirty feet away as they could be fifty feet away.

  “I’m not leaving you,” he told the girl.

  Quietly, he maneuvered his way around the tree until he was on the other side of it. He crouched down, keeping his ears open while he peeked over from around the tree.

  It was only a few seconds when the sound of footsteps told him that while two people were talking, there were three pairs of legs.

  A deep sigh of relief left him when the three men walked into view. Fjord rushed out in quick steps. One of his feet almost stepped on a root wrongly. With his perception sharpened, he adjusted almost immediately, placing the foot properly on the branch. Without missing a beat, he continued until he was at the foot of the tree.

  All three men gave him different expressions. One was tall and… well, handsome wasn’t the word Fjord would use to describe him. He was not ugly to look at, though. He just had a naturally hardened face. His long black hair was held back in a messy pony tail and an expensive sword dangled at his waist. His clothes were a torn mess with blood stains but no clear injuries.

  He was the man Fjord had followed until he’d run into a monster. The knight that he had seen with Lord Lacheart at the Naranoff manor.

  The second man looked like Lord Laceheart if he didn’t have a stick up his ass that made him constantly in discomfort and was a few inches taller. He had the kind of face that told you he knew something you didn’t and was two words away from making a joke about it. He looked friendly enough.

  The third person was completely red. His messy hair was red and sleek with blood. The stench of him waged war against Fjord’s nostrils and tickled his lungs the wrong way. Fjord wanted to gag. Still, regardless of all the blood and tears on his clothes, Fjord recognized the boy anywhere. He’d thought about him enough times to never forget.

  He took a knee, head turned to the ground. “Lord Lacheart.”

  “For the love of all that is unholy,” the young lord groaned in exasperation. “What did I say about all this…” he gestured at Fjord in annoyance, looking for the right word. “Exuberance,” he finished.

  Fjord hesitated, remembering a little too late how adamant the young lord had been towards the behavior when they’d last seen.

  Getting up from the ground, Fjord dusted the knee he’d placed on the floor. “My apologies, my lord.”

  The man who looked like the young lord chuckled lightly before looking at Lord Lacheart. “My Lord? You have your own servant, too?”

  “No, don’t you dare.” Lord Lacheart raised a warning finger to him. “You don’t get to make fun of me. You bullied Josh Networth.”

  The man looked aghast. “Don’t use that against me. I was young and stupid, and his last name was literally Networth. His ancestors were begging to be made fun of.”

  “That was… three years ago, Ted,” Lord Lacheart pointed out.

  The man, Ted, shrugged. “Like I said, young and stupid. Besides, if you remember correctly, Josh and I became friends before this whole debacle.”

  Lord Lacheart paused, then nodded. “That’s true.”

  Fjord was completely confused. Judging from the look on the knight’s face, Fjord was sure that the problem was Lord Lacheart and Ted, not him.

  “So,” Lord Lacheart turned to Fjord. His expression was serious now. “What happened here?”

  Fjord stood a little straighter. It wasn’t involuntary but completely intentional. Lord Lacheart may not seem like every other noble child out there, but he was still a noble child. And if there was one thing Fjord had learnt about them, it was that they loved being sucked up to. If you couldn’t suck up to them, then you at least needed to act the part of hierarchy. The noble rulers behaved themselves, but their children were rarely of the best characters.

  There the occasional nobles who liked a little spark in those around them, but they were as rare as the girls with multicolored eyes, perhaps even rarer. So, Fjord was going to play it safe and work with the assumption that while Lord Lacheart did not like groveling, he would accept obedient and respectful.

  Fjord, standing at relative attention, dived into a story of what things had been like since he’d started investigating the forest. Everything had been simple in the early days. Then the man he was with, Ted, had started coming into the forest with his friends.

  There wasn’t much to report on that part because he rarely saw them on account of their arrivals always coming at the end of his investigations.

  Moving on, he spoke of his suspicion regarding the constant stream of killings and the bodies. Lord Lacheart and his companions didn’t look moved by the news. Fjord knew this because he was watching their reactions to his report. If he was going to work for Lord Lacheart he needed to know the kind of man he would be serving.

  “What do you know about goblins?” Ted asked when Fjord was done with his explanation.

  “Goblins?” Fjord asked, slightly confused. “The monsters?”

  “Yes,” Ted answered, he seemed more amiable than Lord Lacheart. “Specifically goblins in this forest.”

  “Oh.” Fjord realized what he was talking about. “There’s actually a small camp of goblins in the forest, but generally, I stay away from them. They are just on the other side of it. I reported them to the adventure society hall in Elstrire when I found out.”

  “And what was done about them?” Ted asked.

  Fjord shrugged, before remembering that there was a chance the man was also noble somehow. “I do not know, my lord. The last time I checked, there was a contract request placed for the destruction of the camp.”

  Ted looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. “It doesn’t add up,” he muttered to himself, then turned to the knight. “Sir Valdan.”

  “Valdan will work just fine,” the knight said, drawing a frown from Lord Lacheart.

  “Alright then, Valdan,” Ted corrected. “What do you know about vanishing goblins. Is there anyone that disappears into thin air?”

  Fjord knew nothing about goblins that could disappear but he did know something possibly related to what Ted was talking about.

  “Goblins do not have skills unless they are hobgoblins or shamanic goblins,” the knight answered.

  “I might know about that,” Fjord said. When he had their attention, he added: “There is an [Illusionist] that comes around from time to time before nightfall. Perhaps he has a hand in it. Disappearing goblins sound like illusions.”

  Ted took a moment to think about it, but it was Lord Lacheart that spoke.

  “That makes sense,” he said. “It’s like the goblins we met when we snuck out of the palace.”

  “How so?” Ted asked, confused.

  “They didn’t feel any pain,” Lord Lacheart answered. “And I don’t know of a goblin that doesn’t feel pain. So I tried to look into it. In the end, it turned out that they were actually undead goblins.”

  Fjord didn’t like the idea of a man, noble or not, sneaking out of the palace.

  More interesting, though, was the fact that Lord Lacheart seemed worried but not by the goblins or the idea of an [Illusionist].

  Fjord wasn’t surprised that goblins and the [Illusionist] class didn’t surprise him. If the blood covering him and the two swords at his waist were any indication, it was of the fact that the young lord was capable. Besides, Fjord had seen what the man had made of his old poaching crew.

  “And her?” Lord Lacheart asked, nodding towards the tree behind Fjord.

  “Found her like this,” Fjord answered. “I came back to see if I could help her.”

  Lord Lacheart walked past him and started going up the overgrown roots. “When did you find her like this? How long has it been?”

  “A night and a day,” Fjord answered, turning as the others followed.

  Ted had a pained expression on his face. The knight looked very solemn, as if he was already in mourning for an acquaintance but not a friend.

  Lord Lacheart got to the girl and Fjord hurried up the roots to stop at his side, waiting to assist in the event that he was needed.

  Lord Lacheart leaned into the girl and sniffed her hair. “Wood,” he muttered absently. He placed his hand on her face, his expression curious, and turned her head gently to the side. When her head did not budge, he added, “Calcified.”

  “Does she live?” the knight asked, suddenly behind them.

  “Yes,” Fjord answered, hope growing. “I checked. My interface still sees her as alive, and she’s breathing.”

  “She still has breath in her,” Lord Lacheart confirmed. “But it is weak. Soft. It’s almost not there.”

  Please don’t give up on her.

  “Anything we can do?” Ted asked.

  “I’ve not seen a condition like this before,” the knight answered.

  “I have,” Lord Lacheart said at almost the same time. For the first time since seeing the girl, an expression crossed his face. Anger. “I swear to God, I don’t have time for this.”

  “Time for what?” the knight asked.

  “Time to hunt down the bastard responsible and take his head.”

  “Whoa!” Ted said. “Calm down, brother. We aren’t in the business of revenge.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Brother, Fjord noted. Well, it made sense. They looked alike, after all.

  “Who’s responsible?” the knight asked. “We can inform the king and send an investigation team to find them and bring them to justice.”

  Lord Lacheart looked at Fjord and Fjord prepared himself for the instruction he knew was coming.

  “Do you have something to write on?” he asked.

  Fjord nodded. “I have a pen and a parchment. I was using it to record the events of what happened during my investigations.”

  “And where is it?”

  Fjord held up his hand and the pen and parchment appeared out of thin air. “Here.”

  “How does a former poacher afford a storage ring?” the knight asked.

  “Poaching is good business,” Lord Lacheart answered simply, even though he hadn’t been asked. “If you have a good enough crew and a fair leader, you should be able to afford it in due time.”

  “And how do you know this, Aiden?” the knight asked, suspicious.

  “Because I do.” It was a simple answer with a tone that said that he would not be expanding on it. At least, not right now.

  Fjord did not miss the frown on the knight’s face.

  “Actually, it’s a limited storage ring,” Fjord added very quickly. “It holds up to nine items. I got it with some of the money that Lord Lacheart gave me.”

  “What else do you have in the ring?” Lord Lacheart—Aiden—asked.

  Fjord shrugged. “A knife. A sword. That’s all.”

  “I see,” Aiden mused, taking his hand off the girl. “Maybe you won’t need to write anything down. How good is your memory?”

  “Very good, sir.”

  “Then I want you to know that the princess is currently in the village.” He turned and pointed in a direction. “If you go straight down this path without taking any turns, you’ll come out into a village on the other side of the forest. Find any available inn and ask for the abandoned adventure society hall.”

  “Is that where we were?” the knight asked. “An abandoned adventure society hall. How does that happen?”

  “No idea right now,” Aiden said, then turned to the knight. “But I promise to answer any and every question I can answer once we’re done with this, Valdan.”

  There was a tense pause between the both of them. Fjord was sure that they were communicating in their silence. After a while, the knight nodded.

  Aiden returned the nod. “Thank you. Now, Fjord. When you get there, I want you to remain there. Once the day breaks, or probably in the afternoon, the princess will return there.”

  Again, the knight frowned. He said nothing, though.

  “If she does not,” Aiden continued, “feel free to go into town. Look for a woman wearing a shawl to mask the lower half of her face. If you don’t find her, follow the commotion.”

  “The commotion, sir?” Fjord asked, confused.

  “Yes.” Aiden nodded. “The commotion.”

  “And what if I don’t find her?”

  “Then you will start going to the palace.”

  Fjord gulped. He was a poacher, anything sending him to the palace made the hair on his skin stand. Poacher and palace were not things you put in the same sentence in a positive light.

  The look on Aiden’s face told him that the young lord was very much aware of how he felt about it.

  “And what am I to do when if I see her?”

  “If you see her, tell her this.”

  Aiden paused, turning to look straight at the knight. Fjord did not need a [Mage] to tell him that he would not like the next words that the young lord would utter.

  Without looking away from the knight, he said, “Tell her that Lord Lacheart has found the body of one deceased Anita Rogers. Tell her the position we found the deceased Anita Rogers in. Also inform her that the culprit is called Sam. He is currently on the loose. Let her know that he probably thinks his actions are for the greater good.”

  “Aiden.” The knight, Valdan, stepped forward only to be stopped by Ted’s hand on his shoulder.

  “Careful, Valdan,” Ted said in a calm voice. “My brother is not finished.”

  “Let the princess know,” Aiden continued, “that in Anita Rogers’ demise, Sam has finally committed the crime of killing one of his own in addition to the lives that he took at the palace. This part is gravely important. Do not mix the words. Sam has killed one of his own.”

  Fjord nodded. “Sam has killed one of his own.”

  “Good.” Aiden was still looking at the knight. This time, his gaze grew very intent. “Also inform her that Lord Lacheart will not be returning with her. Let her know that she is free to do as she pleases. It would be advisable for her to pass on this message to the king. Sam should be tried and punished under the law.”

  “Lord Lacheart!” Valdan hissed.

  “Careful,” Ted warned, his voice growing quite menacing. “You being my brother’s friend does not mean that I will allow you get in his way.”

  The knight turned on him. “You were aware of this?”

  “It does not matter.”

  “Let the princess know that she will not be seeing me again. I leave the task of dealing with Sam in her hands. If I find out that he has not been dealt with accordingly, then I will make out time on a day no one expects and deal with him in a way that they will not like. Do you have everything?”

  Fjord nodded, hoping his head was not trembling. He hadn’t spoken in response because he’d been worried that his fear would show through his voice.

  Who the hell is this kid?

  Lord Aiden Lacheart had just told him to pass on a message instructing—not advising—but instructing the royal family to get a job done if not he would do it himself. People did not get to do that.

  No one got to do that.

  Ted raised his hand, drawing Fjord’s attention. When he had it, he said, “Tell her that I’m not coming back, too. Tell her that the Lachearts, plural, are not coming back.” He looked at the knight and smiled.

  “Did you get it all?” Aiden asked.

  Fjord nodded.

  “Summarize it for me.”

  “Anita is dead. Sam is responsible. Sam also killed the people at the palace. Sam should be dealt with if not you’ll deal with him yourself. Killing Anita means that Sam has killed one of his kind. You and your…brother are not coming back. She should inform the king.”

  Aiden nodded. “Good.”

  Fjord wasn’t sure what was happening. Anita was not dead.

  “In addition,” Aiden continued. “Inform her that all the bodies in the building belong to [Cannibals]. Let her know that I am responsible for the carnage that happened there. However the royal family wants to deal with it is fine by me.”

  When Fjord nodded once more, he could feel the trembling in his head. Lord Lacheart had just admitted to large scale murder if he was talking about bodies in a building.

  “Anything to add, Valdan?” Ted asked.

  The knight said nothing. He met Aiden’s gaze, held it. Silence settled on them, seeming to blanket the entire forest.

  Eventually, Valdan broke it. “Why?” he asked, after a while.

  “Because I have seen what your palace is capable of. I have seen who your king is, who he has around him. I have spoken to him, his advisor, and his queen. I have spoken to the princess. I know what they have to offer me, and I know what I can gain.”

  “You don’t know this.”

  Aiden shook his head solemnly. “I’m the only one that knows this.”

  Valdan’s jaw tightened. Fjord could see the anger, the battle of mental arguments. The knight was caught in a difficult position, and he knew it.

  Valdan’s eyes hardened until he was glaring at Aiden. Aiden was not affected by it. His gaze was steady, watching the knight, waiting.

  This was, in a sense, a moment of truth. Fjord could feel it.

  “Tell the princess,” the knight said with a sigh, “that Valdan will also not be returning. I, too, have seen what the palace has become since your arrival, Aiden. I will not presume to judge it or understand it. But if there is one thing I know, it is you. I’m coming with you.”

  To Fjord’s surprise, Aiden let out a sigh. Had the young Lord really been bothered by what the answer would’ve been?

  Ted clapped Valdan on the shoulder. “You made the right choice, Valdan.”

  “And how do you know that?” the knight asked with a tone of annoyance.

  “Because,” Ted shrugged. “I imagine traveling the kingdom with my brother and by your gods I would’ve gone insane. Don’t get me wrong, Aiden, I love you, but you’re one gloomy and boring brother.”

  Aiden ignored him and turned to Fjord. “Did you get everything?”

  Fjord nodded. “The three of you are not coming back.”

  “Good.”

  Fjord raised his hand sheepishly. “What about me?”

  “You want to keep serving my brother?” Ted asked, a little surprised. “Why?”

  At this point, Fjord wasn’t even sure if he wanted to. With one conversation, Aiden Lacheart sounded like a very risky employer. But he also sounded like someone in a powerful position with a little too much knowledge.

  If he wanted to grow, he had to take risks.

  He was a [Gambler] after all.

  Life is about taking risks.

  He nodded. “He pays well and trusts me. That’s not an easy thing to come by among nobles. No offense.”

  Ted shrugged. “None taken.”

  Fjord returned his attention to Aiden. “So what about me?”

  “Did you get any package for me from the Naranoff household?”

  Fjord nodded. The package had come two days ago.

  “Where is it?” Aiden asked.

  “In the room I rent at an inn at Elstrire.”

  “I’ll need the name of the inn and which room exactly.”

  Fjord nodded, giving him the information. He gave him the name of the inn as well as the room number, describing how to get to the room.

  “You’ll have to let the inn keeper know that…” Fjord summoned the key to his room when Aiden interrupted his words.

  “Do you have anything in the room that you’ll be going back for?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Fjord answered.

  “Then keep the key. Where in the room is the package.”

  “Under my bed.”

  Aiden nodded. “Thank you. Since you are willing to keep working for me, do you have enough money to last you for a month?”

  Fjord paused, confused. “A month, sir?”

  Aiden nodded.

  “I think so.” Fjord was actually unsure. He probably had enough to if he lived the life of a poor man sleeping in only the cheapest of inns.

  “I see.” Aiden was thoughtful. “Do you have a bank card?”

  Fjord shook his head. “No, sir.”

  Aiden frowned in slight annoyance. “No matter. We’ll deal with it. Ted, a moment.”

  Ted walked up the roots, walking with an air of comfortable authority. He looked like a man with an army behind him, ready to jump out of the shadows in case someone tried to mess with him.

  “You better not be about to borrow money from me,” he said when he joined them.

  “Ha ha,” Aiden laughed without mirth. “Show me your bank card.”

  Ted pulled the card out of the pocket of his pants and Aiden gave him a flat look.

  “You have a storage space but you keep your bank card in your pocket?”

  “It’s not a big deal,” Ted said. “We were told that if we misplaced it, the money was still safe. We just had to get new ones and link them to our accounts.”

  Aiden sighed but didn’t say more on the topic. Instead, he summoned three bank cards from his own storage space. After looking over the three of them, he handed one over to Ted.

  “Keep this safe in your storage space. Not your pocket.”

  Ted took it from him with a slight frown. “Another bank card?”

  “A forgery,” Aiden explained. “But not a very good one. It works like a bank card but this one isn’t linked to any bank account. You lose it and you lose all the money in it.”

  “Oh, kinda risky, don’t you think.” Ted was still studying the card.

  “Not kinda. It is risky, but it has its uses. Channel your mana into it to bind it to yourself. It’ll just reset after a day, but it’s better than nothing. Then I need you to transfer all the funds in your account into it.”

  “You’ve been planning this,” Valdan muttered in realization from across the distance. His voice was sad. “Is this how much you distrusted us?”

  Ted’s card glowed a deep blue that was almost purple. Aiden frowned as he saw the glow, but he said nothing.

  Ted raised up his other card. “I liked this one better. People can’t use it unless you give them system permission. And it doesn’t reset. It was safer. I could also misplace it without a problem and get a new one or just be walking into a bank to withdraw. Aida, you’re stressing me.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Aiden snatched the original card away from him. “This one’s a forgery, so you can’t expect it to be all good. Besides, I’m sure the forgery will get better. As for the problems you mentioned, some of them are the side effects that come with what we need the card to do.”

  “Does Valdan get a card?”

  Aiden shook his head. “He does not. I didn’t really think that far.”

  “Do I get a card?” Fjord asked before he could stop himself.

  “You won’t need one. Hold this.”

  Aiden held the card he’d taken from his brother out to him. Fjord took it without question or complaint. Then Aiden pressed the two remaining cards in his hand together. They glowed a soft blue, with a black smoke like wisp undulating around them. Ted looked down at it but said nothing.

  When he was done, Aiden handed one of the cards over to Fjord.

  The moment he took it, his interface lit up.

  [Aiden Lacheart would like to transfer temporary ownership of Bank Card to you]

  [Would you like to accept ownership?]

  [Duration of Ownership: 24:00:00]

  [Y/N?]

  Yes, Fjord agreed.

  [You have received ownership of one Bank Card belonging to Aiden Lacheart]

  [Card Balance: 400 gold]

  Fjord’s eyes widened in shock. That was a lot.

  “I advise that you find a bank and withdraw your funds before the ownership expires,” Aiden advised. “And don’t transfer it, withdraw it.”

  Fjord nodded.

  “Once you’re done passing the message to the princess or at the royal palace,” Aiden said. “Do whatever you like with your life and meet me at the kingdom’s north gate in a month from today.”

  “We’re leaving the kingdom?” Fjord asked, worried.

  “We might. Now go, Fjord. Let the princess know. I’ll see you in a month.”

  Fjord turned around, wondering if he had made the right choice and walked down the tree roots as if they were stairs. When he passed the knight, he paused and looked back.

  “What of the girl?” he asked.

  Aiden shook his head solemnly. “I’m sorry, Fjord. There’s nothing you can do for her.”

  As Fjord walked off into the forest, he asked himself a single question: What have I gotten myself into?

  …

  “What happens with her now?” Ted asked.

  Valdan had been silent since Fjord’s exit. Aiden couldn’t blame him. The knight had just made a decision to abandon his kingdom for him. After having it on his mind for so long, the knight’s decision hadn’t settled Aiden’s worries as much as he had expected it to.

  It felt as if he had forced Valdan into the decision.

  As for Anita, she had found herself in an unfortunate situation.

  “Like I told the boy,” he said sadly, “there’s nothing we can do for her.”

  “I see.” Ted held his hand up and a scorpion appeared on top of it. “This should help. We can’t kill her, but we can at least ease her pain. I’m guessing she can’t escape this, right? She won’t survive.”

  Aiden shook her head. This was the effect of one of Sam’s future potions. He wasn’t supposed to even start preparations on the potion until a few months from now. But Sam’s race to evil was speeding up, faster than Aiden had anticipated.

  Maybe I should’ve killed him at the palace.

  Ted looked at Anita once more. “And you’re sure this is Sam?”

  Aiden didn’t have to think about it. In the past, Sam had created a potion that when it came in contact with someone deemed to be an enemy, it turned them into a tree. It took a high level of [Willpower] amongst other things to survive the effect.

  If he used it on someone he deemed an ally, they turned into a giant tree creature with high regenerative properties. In its experimental stages, however, everyone was an enemy. Everyone suffered the same negative effects. If Anita had gotten to this point, death was her only option.

  A quick death would be a mercy. But Aiden found himself hesitating. She was most likely in a lot of pain. He believed it but couldn’t prove it. People always said that putting someone out of their misery to stop the pain when death was inevitable was a mercy. But how could they be so sure?

  Aiden looked at Anita. How can they be so sure when the person can’t tell them?

  Killing came easy for Aiden but, he was realizing now, it didn’t come easily to him in all situations. It didn’t mean that he couldn’t kill her, though. But leaving her meant leaving her in so much pain, pain that would last until she had no more life to give.

  A hand rested on Aiden’s shoulder, silencing his thought.

  “Sometimes you think too much, little brother.” Ted stepped forward and held his hand up to Anita’s head. The scorpion he’d summoned crawled up from his hand and unto her head. “A paralysis scorpion,” Ted explained. “It has a poison in its sting that paralyzes its prey. They feel no pain and no sensation. Nothing at all. On someone like Anita, it should last for at least a day.”

  “Enough time for Princess Elaswit to find her,” Valdan said, voice soft.

  Aiden nodded. Even if the princess found her, she would not be able to help.

  I should’ve just killed Sam, he thought to himself.

  Valdan climbed up the tree roots until he stood in front of Aiden. Face to face, Aiden squared his jaw and gritted his teeth. He also tightened his abdomen. If Valdan was going to hit him, he at least needed to prepare to take the blow.

  “I need you to understand something,” Valdan said. “You did not force this decision on me. I made it because someone has to make sure you don’t do anything stupid. We can both admit that my presence will save a lot of lives.”

  “Ha!” Ted barked in amusement. “Your new friend already knows you’re stupid. That’s comedy right there.”

  Valdan’s words lightened Aiden’s heart a little. He opened his mouth to say just that when his interface appeared between him and Valdan.

  [Achievement unlocked!]

  Your fame is sung across the kingdom, seeking to reach beyond and yonder. You have shown that you wield fear in hand yet mercy in the same hand. You have shown the powerful and the gods that you are not to be challenged to a duel despite your mercy.

  [You have earned a new title!]

  [Hand of Mercy]

  [Effect: +30% increase in movement speed when facing a single opponent.]

  [Effect: +40% increase in damage dealt with an open palm when facing a single opponent.]

  [Effect: +30% increase in movement speed in duels regardless of number of opponents.]

  [Effect: +30% increase in damage dealt with an open palm in duels regardless of number of opponents.]

  [Effect: Medium chance to stun opponent with damage dealt with an open palm]

  Aiden couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips when he saw the title and its effects. He could just imagine someone getting terribly confused at why his slaps hurt more than his punches.

  Valdan must’ve misinterpreted his smile because he smiled back.

  “By the gods,” he muttered still smiling, “you’ll be the death of me, Aiden Lacheart.”

  Aiden dismissed his interface with a thought. “Then let’s make you stronger and harder to kill.”

  “I agree.”

  The words did not come from any of the three of them.

  Aiden turned very quickly, drawing his sword. Ted was suddenly surrounded by five different summoned monsters, each one physically terrifying to look at in its own way.

  Standing next to a tree in the direction of the voice was Torat. Aiden could make out a frown on the man’s face from the distance. Torat of the Dragon Hoard was far from pleased.

  “It was a neat trick you used in getting rid of my trackers,” he said calmly, with hands clasped behind his back.

  Valdan frowned. “I don’t understand. I changed my clothes.”

  “And he,” Torat gestured to Aiden casually, “to my greatest surprise, was willing to go the extra mile of cutting the skin off his neck. Which means that he wasn’t just being careful, he also knew exactly what he was doing.”

  “Just out of curiosity,” Aiden said with a weak laugh, hoping his worry did not touch his voice. “How did you end up finding us?”

  Torat shrugged, returning his hand to his back. “Your knight’s sword.”

  Valdan looked down at his sword with a frown.

  “Yes, Sir Valdan,” Torat said. “I can mark anything. Now, if you would all be kind enough to leave, my quarrel is with Aiden Lacheart.”

  Aiden remembered the sensation of the [Detect] skill being used on him and new worry filled his heart. Now he wished it had been the demon not Torat.

  “He has answers I need,” Torat finished.

  Valdan took an offensive stance. “I guess that means it’s time for round two.”

  Torat chuckled in amusement and Ted and his summons took offensive stances. Valdan was under a misconception. The knight did not understand that their earlier victory against Torat had been nothing but a fluke that he still did not really understand.

  “We can’t fight him,” Aiden said in a voice low enough for only Valdan and Ted to here. Hopefully.

  “Listen to your friend,” Torat said, proving that he’d heard it. “You do not want a second round.”

  “Scatter!” Aiden barked suddenly, [Dash] carrying him to the side.

  Valdan and Ted moved at the same time. In the same exact moment, Torat blurred into motion, disappearing from sight.

  The world moved in a blur as [Dash] carried Aiden, only for the blur to change directions as something hard knocked into him. The next thing he knew, his back struck something firm and the wind got knocked out of him. A flash of white pain filled his head but was gone in a moment.

  Torat held him up by the next, pinning him against the tree and allowing his legs to dangle in the air.

  Torat looked to the side, at Anita hanging from the side of the tree and shook his head. “The poor child.”

  Aiden had to agree. Anita died too soon. Far too soon.

  “I have questions for you, Aiden Lacheart,” Torat said, turning his attention back on him.

  Aiden looked past him to their surroundings and found Valdan motionless in the grass. Ted was also in the same position. His face was on the ground with his ass in the air. All his summoned were gone.

  Torat had either been that fast or had used one of the Order techniques.

  “They live,” Torat said, “but only as long as your answers are satisfactory.”

  Aiden looked down at Torat’s arm. The man was wearing long sleeves. He was clearly prepared for the possibility of being enchanted again.

  With that out of the question, Aiden was left with a new worry. If what he feared was true, there was no way to get out of this with words. He could not think of any possible thing that he could say that would prevent Torat from taking him back to the Order if he had, in fact, witnessed what Aiden had been doing.

  When Torat asked his first question, Aiden knew that there was no way out.

  “I saw you kill the [Cannibals] in the building,” Torat said, voice deep and weighted with a promise of punishment. “Where did you learn to fight like that, child? How do you know about us?”

  Screwed, Aiden thought. I’m definitely screwed.

  But he couldn’t go spilling everything. What he needed was a way for him, Valdan, and Ted to survive. He also needed a way that would not end with them ending up at the Order.

  Torat’s hold on him tightened in annoyance. “SPEAK!”

  The sound of his voice pricked Aiden’s ear even as Aiden came up with a very risky answer. It was an answer he was using based on a knowledge from his past life and a knowledge he’d gained only in his present.

  It was a gamble based on Order respect and the information he’d gained because of a fight. But he had to give his answer with both his expression and his words. There was fear and worry on his face, so that part would be easy to pull off. He only had to add a touch of confidence before giving his answer.

  Torat frowned as Aiden’s expression shifted.

  When Aiden opened his mouth to speak, he realized that Torat’s hold was too tight. Sound came from his lips, but they didn’t form words.

  Still frowning, Torat relaxed his grip. “I’m listening.”

  Aiden met the man’s hardened eyes and gave his response in a weak voice.

  “The [Sage] will not be happy about this.”

  Torat’s frown morphed into a scowl that contorted his entire face. Aiden saw it and knew that the effect of his answer was great.

  The question was in what direction the effect had gone.

  Was he safe or had he just dug his own grave by being one of the few people to claim knowledge of a [Sage].

  Torat’s next words gave him his answer.

  He opened his mouth and boiling hot steam spilled from it to encompass his rage.

  “What the fuck did you say?”